This week in the 104th featured a lot of opportunities to meet with organizations and individuals in the district.
Early this week, my Rantoul Office Director and I were invited to a Legislative Breakfast at Parkland College. The breakfast was accompanied by a presentation, with keynote speakers, President Pamela Lau and Stephanie Stuart, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Workforce Innovation/ Chief Communications Officer, that discussed the importance of legislation on programs offered by Parkland College, and other institutions across the state.
Following the presentation, I was taken on a guided tour of the workshops and labs used by students enrolled in programs at the college. Thank you to Parkland College for the informative presentation and innovative tour of your campus.
Tuesday, January 9th was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. While at Parkland College, I was able to personally thank the officers at the institution for working hard to keep the campus safe. Officers all over, thank you for keeping our communities safe.
The City of Danville puts on a First Fridays Event, every first Friday of the month. For January, the city scheduled a FIRE AND ICE Event, which showcased ice skating, face painting, games, snacks and more. The event and future events are free to attend and take place from 4-9 p.m. The goal of the events is to offer up some fun to children during the throes of winter.
Visit Champaign-Urbana is an organization that specializes in travel and hospitality in central Illinois. Jayne DeLuce, President, and CEO of Experience C-U, gave me and my office director a tour of the office and introduced us to her brilliant staff.
Experience C-U works in conjunction with 40 North 88 West, a local Art Institute. The institute created the famed Block I pieces that are featured in the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana’s Homecoming festivities. Thank you to Jayne at Experience C-U and her team for the introduction to travel and hospitality in Champaign-Urbana.
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of meeting with Tessa Clarizio, a PhD student and Research Legislative Fellow at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. We discussed her work in Environmental Engineering.
This spring, Tessa will focus on EV Charging Stations and Component Manufacturing within the district, as well as the incentives and opportunities offered through the State Reimagining Energy and Vehicles (REV) and Edge credit.
A huge thank you to Tessa for taking the time to meet with me and discuss her work.
Later in the week, I had the opportunity to meet with Chuck Jones, Project Manager for Vermilion County Works at Danville Community College (DACC). We spoke about the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, which connects eligible youth and adults with preparation for labor jobs in the area and the legislative aspect that could impact programs like these.
Thank you, Chuck, for the opportunity to meet with you!
